Quint's Top 20 and Analysis, April 15

With spring here and flowers blooming on campus, outdoor parties on frat row and everyday students ready to celebrate — this isn't the time to get distracted. Bear down. Put the blinders on. You have worked too hard to lose sight of your goals. To be a league or national champion you must have the pride to walk away and set your own course.

There are currently 63 DI lax teams; 57 have three or more losses. There are six two-loss teams: Maryland, Syracuse, Cornell, Denver, Notre Dame and Marist. Zero have one loss or are undefeated.

Even the bottom is shrinking. Only two teams haven't won a game yet: Michigan and VMI.
There is only one one-win team in the country (Wagner), and four two-win teams (Canisius, Detroit, Sacred Heart and Rutgers). The Scarlet Knights may be 2-11, but they fell to Notre Dame and Syracuse by only a goal.

Everybody else is with the pack — in the middle somewhere.

1. Notre Dame — The Fighting Irish sleep-walked through the opening quarter as Georgetown spurted out to a lead. ND regrouped and proved superior. The Hoyas' shoddy stick-work was fatal.

Face-off man Liam O'Connor is injured, and his long-term availability puts pressure on Irish freshmen Trevor Brosco and Nick Ossello. This could be a dilemma in the NCAA Tournament.

I'm convinced they will never "look" like the best team in the country. They just win; and often it's ugly. Their resume is deserving of the top spot. I easily could have given No. 1 to Denver, North Carolina, Syracuse or Duke — three teams clicking on offense — but ND beat Denver in Colorado and thrashed Duke in Durham. If they play in May, it'll be different.

2. Denver — Cam Flint scored the game-winner 16 seconds into overtime, as Denver toppled Loyola in Baltimore, 13-12. Flint is a monster when he turns it on. Each team dominated portions of this intense rivalry. Goalie play both ways was spectacular.

The Pioneers are 10-2 and 5-0 in the ECAC with wins over Loyola, Duke, Lehigh, Penn and Ohio State. They appear to be a lock for a home playoff game.

3. Duke — The Blue Devils turned a 13-9 third-quarter deficit into a 19-16 win on Friday night at Koskinen. Brendan Fowler won eight straight face-offs, and Duke pummeled the Virginia zone into submission. Five different "Dookies" recorded hat tricks.

I have three questions about Duke moving forward:

A: What would Duke do if something happened to face-off man Brendan Fowler?

B: Is Duke's defense really improved from the early season losses to Maryland, Penn, Denver and Notre Dame? Giving up 16 to UVa is eye-opening. Or do they hide behind Fowler's possession advantage and a few more stops per game from goalie Kyle Turri? I'm not fully sold on their slide and recovery packages.

C: Is there legit midfield depth at Duke? Deemer Class, Kyle Keenan and Myles Jones were spectators for the majority of Friday's ACC tilt. It seemed as if Duke rotated just four offensive midfielders into the mix — Dave Lawson, Jake Tripucka, Christian Walsh and Josh Offit.

Duke plays at Rutgers, John Danowski's alma mater, this weekend. The Blue Man Group is now 10-4 with eight straight wins including Loyola, UVa and UNC.

4. North Carolina — The Heels have won six straight over Dartmouth, Maryland, Brown, Hopkins, Virginia and Hofstra — quite a tear.

Hofstra controlled the tempo in the first-half on Saturday night, making it a half-field game. The Heels stayed true to their identity in the second half; they were able to run and create in transition. They scored 11 straight and ran Hofstra out of its own house in front of 5,345 fans. Marcus Holman, welcome back to the Tewaraaton discussion; he had seven points. Goalie Kieran Burke was terrific once again (70%) and face-off man RG Keenan (12-20 with 8 GBs) did a fine job in the later stages of this game.

All that remains is High Point on Friday, the ACC tournament and a bye week for finals before the NCAA Tournament.

5. Syracuse — The Wednesday night win on national television over Cornell guarantees the Orange an NCAA bid and places them in the mix for a first-round home game.

Their top-line midfielders delivered as Luke Cometti, Jojo Marasco, Henry Schoonmaker and Scott Loy all contributed. The motion offense is giving opponents fits, because 'Cuse has interchangeable parts and a smart attack trio of players always in the right spot.

Defensively, they had moments of success and struggle. Brian Megill did a nice job on Rob Pannell, after the former player of the year jetted out to a quick goal and three assists.

But let's be honest: this game was won by a margin of centimeters. Schoonmaker's shot hits the pipe and bounces directly to Cometti for the easy put-back. Moments later, Connor English's game-tying toss hits the cross-bar and deflects high into the Dome sky. Flip-flop those two pipe shots and Cornell would have won. Just saying.

Cuse came back on Saturday and showed some immaturity, nearly losing to a 2-11 Rutgers team. Derek Maltz scored the game-winner with :10 to go, as the Orange overcame a five goal deficit — avoiding what would have been a mammoth upset. Cometti and Marasco combined for 13 points. Marasco now has 27 assists and must be considered in any Tewaraaton debate. Rutgers had 21 turnovers.

Handling success seems to be an issue everywhere. Survive and advance.

The Orange are holding meaningful wins over Army, Virginia, St. John's, Hopkins, Cornell and Princeton. The game at MetLife Stadium in the Konica Minolta Big City Classic against Notre Dame on April 27 is looming large on the horizon.

6. Maryland — I'm not sure Maryland fully embraced the potential historical significance of what a win over Hopkins would have meant. They now have bigger issues.

The Terp attack was dormant against a tight Hopkins defense. The unit didn't create any offense, as Hopkins finally played picks well.

Maryland was unable to leak out and create fast breaks off Niko Amato saves. Hopkins locked onto Jesse Bernhardt and denied the quick outlet. They made it a half-field game.

The new Under Armour uniforms looked sharp in defeat. But this time of the year isn't about your fancy gear, or your goofy off-season workouts. It's about what happens between Monday and Friday at practice — and the way you play for two hours on Saturday.

Maryland is holding onto wins over Loyola and Duke as significant resume ammunition. Yale is up next, then the ACC redundancy tournament that doesn't have an AQ, and a season-finale vs. Colgate.

7. Cornell — The Big Red (10-2) lost 13-12 in a Dome instant classic on Wednesday night. They have an offense that's ready for Memorial Day and a defense that's not. They lack depth at the short-stick position — and it cost them badly on Wednesday. That's a hurdle they will have to fight through in late April and May. Teams who rely on two shorties are in for a rude awakening when the weather heats up and you have to win two games in three days.

Cincinnati sophomore midfielder Conor Buczek had a breakout game on the national television stage. Upside potential here is enormous. Max Van Bourgondien and Connor English combine to form an excellent first midfield, but the Big Red's second line has no punch. Cuse face-guarded Steve Mock and didn't slide off him.

8. Penn State — Happy Valley home boys took care of Towson on Saturday behind another strong game from freshman TJ Sanders. The Lions won some critical face-offs in the second and fourth quarters. Defender Tyler Travis did well limiting Towson's Thomas Denapoli. PSU's extra-man scored two key goals and its riding unit caused some turnovers in the last quarter to tame the Tigers.

The Lions are 9-3 and have won seven straight. PSU has top wins over Denver, Bucknell and Drexel.

— Below is where the poll gets challenging, as spots No. 9-17 are interchangeable —

9. Loyola — The Greyhounds are 9-3 and 5-1 in the ECAC after an overtime loss at home to Denver. Their off-the-field work with the youth lacrosse group from Newtown, Conn., must be applauded.

On Saturday, Mike Sawyer had a season-high six points. Sean O'Sullivan scored four times and Josh Hawkins tallied twice, but Loyola's 13-game ECAC win streak was snapped.

Their resume is not at-large friendly; a win over Ohio State is it. The game against Hopkins on April 27 is going to be for an at-large bid, in which the loser may be burnt toast and the winner will have to sweat out Selection Sunday.

10. Ohio State — The Silver Bullets (8-3, 3-2 ECAC) have beaten PSU and UVa — with losses to Denver, ND and Loyola. They have no bad losses, but the win over the Cavs hasn't stood up. If they win out —games with Air Force and Fairfield, and winning a game in the ECAC tournament — they will get a long look by the selection committee. If they falter, all bets are off.

11. Albany — Everybody else in this price range lost this week elevating the team from New York's capital region. Albany is 9-3 with wins over UMass, Harvard, Syracuse and Hopkins. The latter two wins gained value. The America East portion of the schedule continues with UMBC next.

12. Princeton — An ugly loss to Dartmouth. The Tigers are 7-4 with wins over Hofstra, Hopkins, 'Nova and Yale. Princeton plays Harvard this week and then Cornell in the Big City Classic.

13. Johns Hopkins — The Jays are 7-4 after a must-win in Byrd. Hopkins defense played to its press clipping and executed a game plan without mental and physical mistakes. Pierce Bassett was rock-solid between the pipes. The Jays benefitted from the return of Rob Guida; this kid is talented and smooth. John Kaestner subbed for Zach Palmer and didn't miss a beat.

Navy comes to Homewood on Saturday, a game I will be covering on ESPNU. If JHU wins out, including Loyola, they will be in the playoff discussion, but an NCAA bid isn't necessarily a lock.

14. Lehigh — The Mountain Hawks beat Bucknell on "Roll-Call" Friday night to improve its record to 8-2 with goalie Matt Poillon between the pipes. Trailing 3-1 after one quarter, Lehigh outscored Bucknell 10-3 over the next 42 minutes en route to a 11-7 victory in Lewisburg, Pa.

Coach Kevin Cassese got goals from nine players. The starting attack of David DiMaria, Dante Fantoni and Dan Taylor combined for five goals and seven assists. All three first midfielders scored. The second unit was on the field for two goals in just three shifts. Kyle Stiefel added his fifth EMO tally.

The key sequence was a five-minute defensive stand late in the third quarter. Up 6-4, Lehigh withstood a Bison barrage. After finally getting the ball, Poillon scored from 65 yards on an empty net during Bucknell's 10-man ride, giving Lehigh a 7-4 lead late in the period. Huge momentum play. Early goals by Stiefel and Brian Hess in the fourth quarter extended the lead to 9-5. Check mate.

Lehigh will host the four-team Patriot League tournament on Friday/Sunday, April 26/28.

15. Bucknell — The Bison fell to Lehigh on Friday. Chase Bailey had a hat trick and freshman midfielder Brock Ghelfi (5-foot-6 140 pounds) from Arizona is one to keep an eye on. Goalie Kyle Feeney had five big saves, including four on the doorstep, or it would have been worse.

The Bison are 10-3 with wins over Drexel, Cornell and Albany. Their season-finale is at Colgate on Saturday before the Patriot League tourney.

16. Yale — The Bulldogs are 7-3 after a 11-8 win over Brown. The Bulldogs can dig in on defense. Yale plays Stony Brook on Monday, Maryland on April 20 and finishes up the regular season on April 27 against rival Harvard.

17. Drexel — The Dragons are 9-3 after a 15-14 win over UMass that saw midfielder Ben McIntosh score five goals. Drexel has wins over Albany, 'Nova and Hofstra. They are 4-1 in the CAA and play Towson on April 20.

18. Penn — The Quakers are 6-4 and sliding down the rankings, clinging to a high RPI with wins over Duke, Villanova, Lehigh, and Princeton. The Quakers have lost to Denver, Cornell, Harvard and Yale.

19. Villanova — Don't look now. After a 1-5 beginning, 'Nova has won four of five including Ws over Syracuse, Georgetown, Rutgers and St. John's. John Kluh (16, 8), Jack Rice (22 G) and Max Hart (15, 7) are the catalysts. The Wildcats are 4-0 in the Big East and face Notre Dame on Saturday (ESPNU).

20. Army — I'll give Army the final spot over teams like St. John's, Hofstra, Virginia, Harvard, UMass, Colgate, Towson, Marist, Brown and Fairfield. The Cadets play strong defense with Brendan Buckley and have two offensive players who would start for every team in the country with Garrett Thul (36G) and John Glesener (26G).